


Mixed Signals

by marsy_142



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Astronaut AU, Awkward Flirting, EVENTUAL holtzbert, Erin has a silly crush on Kevin but nothing ever comes of it, Eventual Romance, F/F, astronaut/ground control
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-22
Updated: 2016-10-06
Packaged: 2018-08-16 16:52:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8110111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsy_142/pseuds/marsy_142
Summary: Holtzmann starts to develop feelings for a certain member of mission control but it feels like there is too much space between them to make it work. The story of a cocky flight engineer and her flustered junior flight director.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any comments on how I could make this better please do not hesitate to tell me. I'd love some reviews because they keep me motivated to keep going. The title will make sense once the story progresses. Keep updated with my progress at erin-bowties.tumblr.com !!

After years of training, and an extra six months of preparation from the technological and logistical side, Holtzmann was finally there: a new addition to the ISS, in orbit of the Earth. Peering out over the console, she paused to take a moment to breathe in the sight of the Aurora Borealis over the North Pole. “Man,” she reflected, gazing down at her home planet. “I’m real glad I took up this job instead of accounting.”

“Ground control. The Earth is more beautiful than I imagined! I really wish you could see what I see,” The flight engineer commented in awe as her craft docked to the ISS.

The reply was underwhelming, from the wording and to the monotonous voice: “We can. We have video feeds set up and running from almost every angle of the station.”

Taking note of a camera directly in front of her, Holtzmann deducted it was monitoring her to ensure she was carrying out her mission properly. She covered the lens with her gloved palm for a moment, repositioning it away from herself. She used her newfound but, temporary, privacy to change from her ACES into something less constricting of her movements.

“Flight. How are you getting on? Will you be ready to embark the ISS soon?”

Holtzmann’s face popped up on the video feed as well as her bare shoulders. “Well...I don’t actually have anything on my top half and my pants are half down, what do you think ground control? I feel like this looks like the aftermath of a good night.”

A blush played on Gilbert’s cheeks. Either from second-hand embarrassment or personal interest, she wasn’t entirely sure. She was quick to rebound, regaining composure out of loyalty to her work. “You are aware that this feed is being broadcast worldwide? Be sensible flight.”

“Oh but where’s the fun in that?” Holtzmann whined playfully and sent a wink with her words.

She heard an exasperated sigh on the other side of her communications.

“You are doing something many people can only ever dream of doing, you do understand that? Please. Have some pride in the role you’re undertaking and be serious,” Gilbert practically hissed through her headset. She wasn’t in the mood for playing games today, it was 3am and she hadn’t had any sleep since the same time the day before.

“I’m sorry ground control. Actually, do you mind if I get your name? Ground control is _waaay_ too formal. It takes a lot out of me to say it over and over again,” her face was still sporting a grin that made it completely clear that her antics were not over, she would continue to annoy those at mission control, namely Gilbert, for many more hours.

“I can’t give you that information, flight. And anyway, how are you even allowed on a lone mission? Like, how do you not have a babysitter with you?”  
“Wow! Do I detect a hint of humour from the ever-dull mission control?” Holtzmann gasped with both hands clasped over her mouth in a playful way to emphasise her shock.

That comment went entirely unnoticed. Erin's attention was on her colleague that piped up from the opposite end of the room, "Gilbert. Check the information coming in for any problems."

Quickly, the volume on their end dipped so their conversation, or shouting whichever way you look at it, wasn’t audible - except it still was if you tried your hardest to listen in.

“Yates! I was trying to remain anonymous,” yelled Gilbert across the mission control room.

“Well how else would I get your attention and yours alone?! If I said “ground control” in this room _everyone_ would turn around and look at me!” All eyes in the room shot around to look at the two engaged in an argument, “See! I told you they’d all look at me!”

“We are drawing attention to ourselves because we are shouting. You saying “ground control” has nothing to do with it.”

Arms folded, Erin disarmed and dismissed Yates with a stern glare. The two heated individuals took their seats again. Everyone else returned to their work that they were momentarily distracted from.

“Ground control? Helloooo? Or should I say, Gilbert?” There was a teasing tone in Holtzmann’s voice.

Holtzmann had the attention back on her and Erin got back in control of the mission. She directed the cocky astronaut on how to enter the ISS safely and what to do once there.

\------

After a few hours of her getting used to working on the ISS and being greeted by all the other astronauts aboard, she reported back to mission control to give some information and feedback.

“Gilbert! I have a new friend!” 

Without any interest mission control replied, “That’s good.” On the monitor beside Holtzmann a familiar face appeared, “Wait up! Is that Tolan? Patty Tolan? I thought you were coming back down soon?” 

Holtzmann looked towards Patty and then back to the camera, “You two know each other?” 

“She was the junior flight director on my mission, or something,” Patty shrugged. 

“Gilbert! Are you cheating on me?” Holtzmann pouted into the feed, “How dare you not tell me about this other astronaut you monitored! I can’t believe this treachery!” She then kicked mischievously against the padded wall in front of her. The lack of gravity taking action, Holtzmann launched backwards and away from the camera, leaving Patty and ground control alone. 

“What an idiot,” whispered Erin.

“Tell me about it. I have to live with her up here, God help me.”

“Y’know, I do have ears! I can hear you two!” Holtzmann shouted while performing weightless flips behind patty. 

Gilbert rolled her eyes, despite the fact that no one would be able to see her non-verbal gesture. “If that is all you wanted to show me Holtzmann then I’ll leave you two to it.”

“No more babysitters! Did ‘ya hear that Patty!” Holtzmann propels back towards Patty and knocks into her almost full force, “It’s playtime!”

“Holtzy. No playtime for you, we have to do work,” replied Patty, while she keyed something in on the computer that protruded from the wall beside her. 

Holtzmann swooped past Patty and grabbed onto her arm causing them both to go floating down a narrow tunnel-way together. “But Patty, we are in spaceeeee! Don’t you see the gravity of the situation?” she chuckled to herself and reached out for a pipeline, messing about - of course because when was she not messing about, she did pull ups on it. 

“Holtzy. There is no gravity in the situation, we are in space as you pointed out,” she put her head down into her hands to express disbelief at her fellow astronaut. 

\------

Erin strode down the hallway to her superior’s quiet office. While hesitant to wake her senior she thought the query was important enough to let her knock on the door. 

“Flight director Gorin, I have a question."

"Come in and take a seat at my desk, Gilbert." With a wave of her arm Erin was invited in to distract Gorin from her sleep with her questions about the mission. 

She sat at the desk and began expressing her concerns, "How can we be sure that Holtzmann won't endanger this mission?" 

“That is my call and that is why you are my junior flight director. I trust her and she has been through the correct training,” Gorin’s steely gaze drove knives into Erin’s skin. It made Gilbert flinch and shift her posture uncomfortably. 

_Who is she to question my judgement?_ Thought the flight director. “Now. If that is all you are here for…”

Gilbert cut her off with, “Sorry yes. I’ll go back to my place.” 

She retreated from the room and as not to show disrespect she does so without turning her back fully on her senior. With careful hands she closes the door on Gorin’s office. Gorin climbed back onto the couch, pulled the warm blanket over her, and shut her eyes tight knowing that in only two hours she would be needed to observe the mission. 

As a former astronaut she felt offended that her experience-based knowledge on the topic wasn’t good enough for her subordinate to have faith. Especially to not have trust in the one astronaut she trained to the highest standard – that was considered a direct insult.

\------

“Tea?! Coffee?! Anyone?” the blond intern entered the room with a loud announcement that made all heads turn to watch him as he boldly carried the two hot beverage flasks into a room full of electronics. He set them, to everyone’s relief, on an empty desk near the entrance at the back of the control room. 

He felt like a fool for being so loud in such a place of extreme concentration. Stood beside the table of refreshments silent to match the atmosphere of the room, his name-tag glinted in the lights of the control room, ‘Beckham’ it read. 

“Oh no, not another one. I hope he is better than the last,” Yates whispered to a colleague beside her.

“He isn’t making a good impression so far,” the colleague whispered back. 

Across the room Gilbert had more hope for the sweet blond intern. He was trying his best and she admired that – as well as his toned biceps that flexed and tensed in a wondrous way every time he picked something up. 

_No Erin. Stay focused._ She mentally slapped herself.

Erin walked up the stairs to the back of the room and poured herself a coffee, “So, what’s your first name?” she tried to make conversation.

“Kevin.” 

“That’s quite…a name.”

“Thanks?”

She put the top on her cup and paced quickly back to her seat to spare her from anymore embarrassment. 

_What an idiot. That’s quite a name? What is that supposed to mean?_

\------

A few hours had passed since the last contact between the new flight engineer and mission control. Which meant that it was time for Holtzmann to be briefed on her duties and to be checked in on. 

"ISS. Can you hear us?" 

"Loud and clear Gilbert," replied Holtzmann in that trademarked cocky intonation.

"Holtzmann. It is time to be serious, we have a list of duties that you need to be briefed on."

The flight engineer grabbed onto a padded tube and kept herself still in front of the camera instead of showing off with her floating and flips. Her expression showed that serious was possible for her, "Understood. Brief me."


	2. Chapter 2

Upon being briefed on her duties the flight engineer pulled out her EMU from her quarters so that she could carry out her tasks outside of the space station. With a lot of difficulty she was finally in the thick layered suit and ready and waiting at the hatch.

“Jeez. That was hard to get on. It’s so damn complicated with all those components and fitting it all together,” she commented in Patty’s direction before she sealed her into the airlock module.

“Have fun out there Holtzy.”

“Will do Patty cake!”

Holtzmann was ready. She gripped onto the handle of the airlock and turned it till it was open, she swung the hatch open and exited the station and entered the cold vacuum she was protected from. The engineer explored the outside of the station until she found the part she was supposed to fix up and tethered onto the outside of the destiny module so that she could stay against the panel she had to examine.

“This is just routine maintenance understand?” restated mission control.

Holtzmann grabbed for a tool in the belt that was strapped to her waist and quickly refastened the belt so that nothing would float out and away. “Yes ma’am.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Yes babe,” Holtzmann responded with a joking smile that was even clear in her voice.

“That’s not better.”  
  
\------  
  
Everyone was staring at her and she knew it. She could feel the chill down her spine from all the eyes she could feel on her. It made her incredibly uncomfortable. One look up from her desk and it was confirmed. “Don’t you all have work to be getting on with?” Erin practically yelled across the room.

All heads shot down and just like back their focus was back on their work as if her words were magic or maybe they just feared her quick temper that was evident in her voice. Her forehead hit her hands and she let out a disgruntled sigh, “Holtzmann. Can you please stop that, the rest here at mission control keep getting distracted. No pet names. Can you just do that?”

“But baby I can’t help it! I get attached easily!”

Erin’s back tensed and all eyes were back on her, “Flight engineer Holtzmann. Stop it now.”

“Baby why are you getting so mad at me?” Holtzmann asked with a playful tone.

“I’m going to terminate comms.”

Holtzmann shook her head in protest despite no video link, “No! Please don’t do that I need some entertainment from the ground.”

“Then be good!” commanded Gilbert.

“Yes mother.”

“Holtzmann!”  
  
\------  
  
It was twenty five years ago that Rebecca Gorin was on a mission and it was the mission responsible for the first every contact between a NASA craft and an unidentified and unclassified one. Unfortunately the craft they had communications established with carried a malicious species that held all crew members on that mission hostage.

Gorin, luckily, escaped after being missing for only five days, the rest of the crew it is still unknown what happened to them. She was responsible for the cover up – an obviously taxing task. No details of the mission were published and all have been archived in protected locations.

Now here she was, overseeing her protégé Jillian and hoping that she would not come to the same discover that resulted in her crew going missing. Gorin was hopeful because since her mission there had been no contact with any unfamiliar spacecraft. Jillian was in safe hands but not if Gilbert was involved.

The junior flight director must be removed from the equation if this mission were to be a success.  
  
\------  
  
Black heels clunked against the floor and the sound echoed through the entire gallery. Then she was in view; Flight Director Gorin pacing the stairs and sending shudders down the spine of everyone she passed.

“Gilbert. To my office please,” she requested.

An unpleasant lump of anxiety sat in Erin’s throat and no matter how many times she attempted to swallow it down it ceased to move. She stood from her seat silently and followed Gorin out of the room.

Gorin perched on the front of her desk, her arms propping herself up as she stared down at the chair in front of her, “Erin, it has come to my attention that you and Jillian have an unprofessional manner of speaking”

“- I don’t mean to,” Erin cut in.

“I do not care if you mean to or not. It is bad for our reputation and I would prefer you knocked it off. If this does not stop I will take over communications.”

“Understood. But you do realise that Holtzmann is the one who throws me off, she’s causing me to be unprofessional.”

“She is not responsible for your attitude so do not blame her. You have self-control don’t you?” Gorin growled.

 _Enough to stop me from hitting you in the smug face._ Thought Erin. She nodded.

“Then I don’t want to hear any more of it. If you wish to speak to Jillian in **that** way then at least do it on a private feed,” explained Gorin and with the wave of her hand Erin was dismissed.

 _Well at least it’s a lot better than getting fired._  
  
\------  
  
“Babe! Hi! I fixed the thingamabob that was on my task sheet,” exclaimed Holtzmann as she positioned the camera in front of her. She threw her tool belt to the side and it started floating away, “Crap. ‘Forgot that it can’t just…land on the floor somewhere.”

Erin connected her microphone and responded with, “Holtzmann. We must be professional. No more messing about over comms with me, understand?”

“Who says?” Her nose scrunched up as she questioned.

“Flight Director Gorin.”

“Screw that! I’ll talk whatever way I want,” she protests with sulking pout.

“I think Gorin will be kinda pissed off that you’re disrespecting her orders.”

“I am,” another voice cuts in.

Erin searches the room for someone else using the channel but no one else was connected, it was someone who wasn't in the control room, “Gorin?”

“Becca?” Holtzmann questions.

“I thought you’d be a bit more appreciative of my orders Jillian.”

She was silent. Everyone was until Gorin disconnected and went back to signing off paperwork in her office and reading printed progress reports.

After a few more moments of uncomfortable silence from both ends Erin decided to break it with, “Holtz? I’m sure she didn’t mean it.”

“I don’t want to talk here,” Holtzmann barely spoke above a whisper.

And just like that the feed was ended. Erin set back in her chair and let a sigh climb her lungs and erupt through her mouth loudly. Abby leant back on her chair so she was visible to Erin, turned to look at her and shrugged her shoulders as if to ask, ‘what was all that about?’  
  
\------  
  
It was 1PM and that meant it was lunch-break for five members of the mission control team. A quiet signalling noise sounded across the room which alerted Erin and four others to get up, leave the room and take their much needed break. Abby followed her out and to the cafeteria.

The junior flight director took a seat at the empty table and pulled out her phone and issued mobile communicator. She sat both down on the table and both buzzed at the same time.

Displayed on screen was, 'One new message from Phil' and on the other, 'One new message from Jillian Holtzmann'. She picked up the mobile communicator first and opened the message from the astronaut.

'Hey Gilbert. Have fun at lunch.'

_How the heck did she know that information?_

Erin typed her response, 'Holtzmann? How did you establish this messaging feed? Is it a private connection?'

'Yup. It's pretty simple Patty showed me, she's done it before but that was because she had a thing with one of the guys on ground. Maybe we'll be like them... ;D'

She picked up her phone and deleted the message from Phil without even reading it. It was probably him whining about something mundane or begging for her to forgive him, both cases were the usual for him.

Abby set a tray of food down in front of Erin and then took a seat beside her and began digging into her own food, "You gotta eat to keep awake you know."

With a fork Erin poked at what was on her plate then decided it was not going anywhere near her mouth. "I'm not hungry."

"What's the matter with you? What are you sulking about?" Abby frowned, she had concern for Erin but showing it appropriately, that was a difficult thing to do.

"I'm not sulking about anything. I just...I don't know," Erin answered.

"Oh no...did Gorin get to you?"

Erin snapped her focus towards Abby as she spoke the name and rolled her eyes.

"I'll take your sudden movement and silence as a yes. Well don't let her get to you, she's just doing her job."

"And so am I?!"

Another buzz came from Erin's devices. She opened the message, 'Can I take you out to dinner when I'm back on Earth?' A visible blush spread across the junior flight director's cheeks and a slight smile spread across her face that was so gloomy before.

"If that is because of Phil, I swear, I'm going to flip my shit. Honestly I don't know what you see in the guy," said Abby.

"It's not," Erin said with confidence.

"Oh? New guy? New girl?"

"New astronaut."


End file.
